A couple of weekends ago, my husband and I visited friends who had relocated to the town of Bonavista last year. It was a three and a half hour drive away, the weather was lovely and it was our first time seeing the beautiful and historic town, so of course I had my camera ready. It was extremely difficult to narrow down the photos to only these!
Is there anything that captures the carefree magic of summer more than spending warm days playing at the beach? When the kids came to visit this week, they happily took advantage of the many delights the seaside has to offer. 
Building sand castles, catching hermit crabs in their little shells – and releasing them again – jumping over frothy waves and off of sand dunes, letting their dog run free, all this and more made for a memorable summer holiday.
Nico probably had the best vacation a dog ever had. The freedom to explore the coastline, running after beach birds that couldn’t be caught, he was a joy to watch as he galloped across the sand in wide circles around us.
Our little girl played with her new friend from Ontario every chance she got, as if they had always known each other. When the time came to say goodbye, she cried, but they exchanged addresses and made plans to become pen pals until they could see each other again. 🙂
The day they left, our little boy said he wished he lived here because he didn’t have a “backyard beach” at home.
Ailsa’s travel-themed photo challenge this week is Architecture.
While I was out and about in the older section of St. John’s last month, I stopped to admire some of the colourful Victorian rowhouses near the downtown. Tourists come every year looking for the street called Jelly Bean Row, but there is no one street. It is the nickname given to all the vibrantly painted row houses in the downtown area.
Ahhh…Home Sweet Home!
After two busy weeks in our fair capital city of St. John’s, my husband and I are once again happy to be back in our house on the Point. Make no mistake, though, I always enjoy our extended summer jaunt revisiting my birthplace, even though husband has to bring some work with him. Time spent with the kids and grandkids is always a great thing, as were the walks around Mundy Pond and Quidi Vidi Lake, not to mention the dining out, the shopping, and celebrating husband’s birthday. We even managed to take a couple of side trips to Grates Cove and Portugal Cove while we were there.
My trip would not have been complete, however, if I had not taken a spin up to Signal Hill.
Is it any wonder one of my favourite spots has a spectacular view of the ocean? I know, I know. I live by the sea. You’d think I would have had my fill of huge bodies of water by now. But no, when the yearning for the sea beckons, I must respond.
I expect to be extremely busy over the coming weeks, finishing the first draft of my novel (but I will be checking in here too!). I’m hoping to have it completed by the time my daughter and her family come to visit in the latter part of August. Wish me luck!
Further Reading:
Sometimes I’m Still that St. John’s Girl
My husband and I are enjoying our second week away from home, spending most of our time in my birthplace, St. John’s, the capital city of Newfoundland. This past weekend, however, we took a short trip to Grates Cove.
This little community is the most northerly one on the Avalon Peninsula, and is my mother’s hometown.
My father’s maternal roots are also here, so most of my relatives originated in Grates Cove. Some of them still live here, and others have summer homes.
Grates Cove is actually a National Historic site, recognized for its acres of rock walls.
From the last of the 1700’s to the early 1900’s, local residents used the rocks to define spaces within their environment. The rocks were thrown, stacked and piled into more than 160 acres of land to set aside fields, create gardens, store vegetables, protect livestock and to use as cemeteries. (source: beyondbaccalieu.com)
Like many of the coastal communities in our province, Grates Cove was a desirable place because of its prolific fishing grounds. First settled in 1790, its population has shrunk over the years, but it still supports the livelihood of a number of local fisher-persons, and is a popular tourist destination.
Many of these tourists have loved the place so much, they bought property of their own and put down roots. It has been reported that Grates Cove has the highest per capita in all of Newfoundland of “Mainlanders” buying up houses to live.
If you are ever in the area and get a chance to visit this picturesque little fishing village, I am sure you will understand why the “come-from-aways” fell in love with it and made up their minds to stay.
Have you ever visited tiny, out-of-the-way communities like Grates Cove? Are any of your relatives still living in places such as these?
Disclaimer: No wildlife was harmed during the creation of this photo shoot.
My son came for a visit here in Newtown this past week. On one of the days, I went along to take pics of him and my husband playing beach golf. This beautiful sandy beach is only a few hundred yards from our house. The weather was cool and windy, but I liked the way the photos turned out.
What do you like to do when you go to the beach?
Here is my take on Ailsa’s Travel Theme: Ripples this week.
First, some evening shots along the shores near my home:
This morning I shot these pics of my husband and Vivian on their pre-breakfast jaunt:
There were a few “ripples” of laughter from behind the camera too. 
When you get a beautiful sunny day around here in the middle of February, it’s almost impossible to resist the urge to get outside and enjoy it. And especially so, when the forecast is telling you that it is the calm before yet another winter storm.
Yes, the winds are going to whip up again tonight, and we’ll have to be content with more cocooning. But yesterday my husband and I enjoyed a walk on the branch road, on perhaps the most brilliant winter day we’ve had this year.
Here is a sampling of some photos from our walk.
How about where you live? Are you enjoying your February weather?
I was a little disappointed this morning when I learned our area wouldn’t be getting the big dumping of snow that St. John’s and the rest of the Avalon Peninsula has in their forecast. Everyone there is bracing for up to seventy centimeters of the white stuff, while we are only expecting five to ten.
Boo! 😦
But then along came a little visitor down by our beach.
I thought it was an adult harp seal first, because he appeared to be mostly black.
But as I inched closer…and he turned to see me…
I could see more spottiness and some “whitecoat” on his other side.
When I reassured him that I meant no harm, he seemed to squint his eyes…sort of like my cats do when I talk “love talk” to them. 🙂
Don’t worry, little seal.
You are so very close to my house.
I’m not fond of seal meat or flipper pie, so you have nothing to fear from me.
So even though I’m going to miss the big snowfall back home, I never could have gotten these pics back in my old backyard !
To see photos of the baby seal, or whitecoat, that visited us last winter, click here, and scroll down. 🙂
Jennifer's Journal 